Robbi loves this time of year. She loves Halloween, loves Thanksgiving, loves Christmas. But she feels quite strongly that one holiday should end before another one begins.
If it were up to me, we would have gotten our Christmas tree in late October. There’s nothing I love more than a Christmas tree, especially in the middle of the night, when its hundreds of small white lights illuminate an otherwise dark room.
But Robbi’s Rules dictate that the Christmas tree cannot be procured until Thanksgiving is in the rear view mirror. That fine holiday now behind us, we decided that today was the day to drive across the Chester River Bridge to find a tree.
Robbi has a nose for these things. She found the winner right away.
I stood it up to make sure that it was grand enough to satisfy Alden.
Apparently, it passed muster, if barely.
We put the tree into the back of the car, which made Iggy miserable.
On the other hand, Kato and Alden were delighted.
We got home and wrangled the tree up the stairs, leaving a trail of pine needles as we went. Once we got the tree into the living room, I dug out our trusty tree stand.
Kato, who hadn’t quite arrived by Christmastime last year, was fascinated.
I tried to slide the ring of the stand over the trunk—only to discover that our tree was a bit too grand. The trunk was too fat. The ring didn’t fit.
Kato tried.
And Alden tried.
To no avail. In a rage, Alden picked up the screw gun and attacked the tree.
Wanting to reward her initiative by putting her idea to the test, I searched out some big fat screws.
I tried to use them to screw the legs of the stand into the trunk, thinking that this might somehow persuade the tree to stand.
It was a foolish, foolish plan. The ring that would not fit around the tree trunk is the essential element of the tree stand design. Without it, our tree listed crazily to one side and threatened to tip over and crush us all. Robbi, ever wise and reasonable, grabbed the car keys and left.
About twenty minutes later, she returned with a huge chunk of green plastic. We all had our theories.
Kato was convinced it was a hat.
Princess Alden was of the opinion that her long-awaited throne had finally arrived.
But Robbi set us all straight. It was, in fact, a Christmas tree stand.
To clarify: It was, in fact, the ultimate Christmas tree stand.
The ultimate Christmas tree stand demanded that I painstakingly screw eight long supports into its base. While I struggled through the task, Kato provided the moral support.
Once the stand was assembled, we we slid the trunk in (rather easily, I might add) and tipped the tree until it was standing straight up. The stand was an epiphany. It actually worked. Never had a piece of green plastic so thoroughly exceeded my expectations.
But, as it turns out, my work was not yet done.
Looking for the perfect angle for optimal viewing, Robbi stood back and directed me to turn the tree this way, then that way, then this way again. Each time I’d think that Robbi was finally satisfied with the placement of the tree, she’d have a change of heart or a new idea, and we’d be back to this way and that way. The tree rotation exercise was so excruciating and endless that Iggy lost consciousness on the couch.
Kato was thrilled, however. He watched my every adjustment from his favorite spot behind the couch.
When the tree was positioned perfectly, I strung up the lights and turned them on.
Next came the ornaments. For whatever reason, Robbi and I haven’t accumulated many in our eleven years together, but we showed Alden how to hang what few we have. She caught on pretty quickly.
She was disappointed when we ran out of ornaments for her to hang. I knew just how to comfort her.
One of the reasons we don’t have many ornaments is that it is the Behr family tradition to decorate the tree with sugar cookies—a lot of sugar cookies. I explained to Alden that soon there would be more ornaments to hang, more than she could imagine, and that each and every one of them would be edible.
Her response was predictable.
She is my daughter, after all.
BUTTER cookies. Not sugar cookies. Butter cookies have the remarkable ability to remain tasty even after months of hanging on a tree getting hard. I mean, they’re made of butter, after all. BUTTER, Matthew.
Okay…you guys are getting me into the Christmas spirit. The last few years, I am slower to succumb, but like many, once I finally give in, I do love it.
So, more to come from me…about Xmas tree stands, and
sugar…butter cookies, of all things.Fa…la…la…
This post made me laugh! This was exactly what my dad did every year. We had that same kind of stand (the first one) and we’d drag the tree home into the garage and Dad would freeze while trying to saw the trunk perfectly to fit in the ring. Finally my mom must have gotten a newer tree stand, no word if it was Ultimate or not! I love Christmas trees, enjoy!
Is the butter cookie recipe a secret? Because I know some children in Kansas who would probably enjoy eating Christmas ornaments too.
The barn looks so cozy. I think its cozy anytime of year, but it looks especially cozy right now. mmmmmmmm…
Love that Kato is wearing a Halloween shirt…
Ahem …. exCUSE me, but no one has mentioned that the tree stand that saved the day came from a company called Home Logic. That made me LOL! While Matthew makes me LOL, that name might be the funniest part of the story. And Iggy is the smartest pup around town … Remy would have been right in there trying to help.
P.S. I know they are BUTTER cookies covered with SUGAR.
Jenifer:
Thank you for coming to my defense regarding the cookies. Ask anyone who tastes them whether “butter” or “sugar” is the defining adjective, and I’d place good money on “sugar” being the runaway winner.
Matthew
We have the same stands. The old one worked fine until wife started to get the sheared noble firs with the fat trunk. And the bottom part is usually too short, and need to cut the bottom branches to fit the larger stand. A whole lot of effort setting up that tree but wife loves a Christmas tree. In Hawaii, they come in refrigerated containers and a bit pricey but can’t enjoy Christmas without one…we once kept it in our living room until late spring, all dry and petrified, a fire hazard for sure.
Re the um…cookies…
Couldn’t the debate be settled by looking at the amount of the ingredients?
If butter outweighs sugar, then they should be considered “Butter Cookies”. Vice versa, then “Sugar Cookies”.
FWIW, I just checked with my husband, who grew up in a family in which the ubiquitous “Xmas Cookies” are yet a yearly priority, to the point that they bring them up months in advance when Xmas travel plans are being considered. For example, since “we” are the ones flying this Xmas, “they” are the ones who have to make the cookies.
And, they call them…”Sugar Cookies”. Not sure if they are comparable, but they do have lots of gross, brightly colored icing, but they do not hang on trees. But, they have LOTS of butter. Not sure of the exact amounts. ;-)
I hope that some night in the middle of the night you enjoy some ice cream, perhaps sandwiched between two sugar cookies, while basking in the glow of your sparkling tree.
While you’re waiting to get to baking the cookies, try tying a ribbon around each of the cookie cutters. They make great ornaments (and Iggy and the little ones won’t eat them) — put the cutters down low and the cookies higher when you’ve baked the cookies. And candy canes were just made for the tree, don’t you think? We like to hang seashells on the tree, too — don’t know if you see any in your walks during the year, but they are fun to gather with far-off Christmases in mind.
Awesome Advent.
Yes, Virginia, that is a Christmas …. on Christmas morning we’ve always thrown our ribbons on the tree, if they’re pretty enough. And just about anything lying around that looks like it could sit on a branch, or anything that you could put a hanger or a ribbon on. It makes for some very interesting decos.